Gust Says There Won’t Be An Atelier Rorona Plus

Gust have released Atelier Totori Plusand more recently Atelier Meruru Plus for the PlayStation Vita. Thus, naturally,people have wondered if we’ll be seeing a ‘Plus’ version of the third game in that series, Atelier Rorona, as well.

According to the games’ director, Yoshito Okamura, there won’t be an Atelier Rorona Plus, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be seeing more of Rorona in the future.

In the latest countdown video for Atelier Meruru Plus, Okamura states: “The remaining titles that haven’t been ported don’t have the content that can be finished with a Plus version. Above all else, we’d like to make an expansion for those titles that shows the reason why we saved them for last!”

That statement sounds a little vague and leaves quite a bit open to interpretation. What we think Okamura is saying is that, while Atelier Rorona won’t have a Plus version, we might see a meatier update to that game instead.

Additionally, Gust say they’re currently brainstorming ideas for their next title. They’re also using questionnaires as feedback for their next release.

I was thinking there would have been people interested just to have a portable version, even if there was little or no new content.

Solomon_Kano

I definitely would’ve been interested.

Lester Paredes

Me too!

Nee Nee

The trilogy on the vita was never meant to be…
-sad-

Xerain

They didn’t exactly say it would never be on the Vita… They simply said they wouldn’t make a Rorona game that is essentially the same + Costumes. Because Totori and Meruru are much much better games, hence it would require a total remake. Something they intend to do. Some day on some system. That doesn’t mean it won’t be the Vita. It means it’s too soon to anticipate anything or to rule anything out.

Solomon_Kano

Oh? Well, I’ll keep that in mind then.

DesmaX

Well, Rorona was just as “bad” as AT III, wasn’t it?

It would be wiser if it tooked more than a simple “Plus” version

FitzpatrickPhillips

Neither were bad

MrTyrant

For me both were bad or better said, the weakest entry for different reasons. I never welcomed the Ar Tonelico III story and characters (save tyria or Cocona) and change of battle system, probably i felt really dissapointed that AT trilogy ended like that. Rorona’s case is not similar but it was the return of the slice style from older games before Iris. Totori/Meruru for obvious reason are better with the improvement overall in graphics or battles and some tweaks in the main quest.

aquagon

Even if it ended the trilogy in a very good note and all of its characters ended getting important roles in the post-game novels. And I still fail to see how the third game had a so-terrible story and characters.

M’iau M’iaut

Please remember most of our audience will only know the series through the games. The novels and companion books are not something which have come over in any form. AT3 did put more direct emphasis on the ecchi side of things — although fan service was certainly always there.

aquagon

Leaving out the Purges (whose animations can be turned off, and even skipped when they appear in the middle of cutscenes), the fanservice was pretty much at the same level as in the previous games.

Likewise, while it’s true that the Settei Books, novels and such were never brought here (and I doubt that anyone will ever bother localizing them due to their sheer size and amount of text), the fandom already took care of translating several of them and making them available for anyone that wanted to read them. Likewise, the Visual Book was brought here by Udon, and while it isn’t as full of information as the other books, it still has some interesting bits on it, particularly the interviews at the end.

http://thrust-the-sky.deviantart.com/ WildArms

This reminds me so much to RPGfan’s forums, so just because it has some purges scenes that aren’t obligatory to see, this game became some ecchi almost hentai OMFG RISKY game, and a lot of people that haven’t played it talk as if they did, of course saying is all ecchi and blah blah, we were lucky AT2 was sprite art, or god knows how would had people talked with all the girls taking a bath scenes.

Besides the purges scenes this game really has the same level, if not less of fan service as the other games, hell, people that actually expect ecchi stuff will have a let down, literally.

Locklear93

I dunno. I loved AT and AT2, but considered AT3 to be unforgivable, phoned-in garbage.

M’iau M’iaut

i have to agree — more than half the playables are previous ones, the two girls are basically absolute matches for the AT1 leads, and their spheres are small and the conflicts shallow. The ‘hidden’ girl is certainly no Shurelia. A lot was sacrificed just so we could see them in their undies, with very little gained.

ShadowDivz

I never got to play AT 1 & 2, i could only find the 3. Are they really that much better?
Plus, im a perv so seeing the Finnel in her undies was a plus for me. xD (Im honest)

M’iau M’iaut

The leads in AT1 really are the class of the series — something quite important in a game the style of this. Finnel is just too much like Misha and Saki too much Aurica for one who has played the earlier games not to take real notice.

The special cosmosphere girl (Shurelia) has a story that basically plays as a VN spoof, within a VN-inspired game.

While you don’t get the chance to see Aurica’s pantsu — the way she rocks a bear suit makes up for it.

http://s1.zetaboards.com/Espada_of_Alexandria/index/ konpon568

SHURELIA, FTW!

ShadowDivz

I hope so, because (assuming you played AT 3) i didn’t really like Aoto. Because he was your typical “i will protect my important people” and because he was so head over heels for saki which was bad for me since i loved Finnel.

Sorry to say this but you are wrong, that their designs/colors are close doesnt means they are the same, dude finnel is not even close to what misha is, and saki to aurica? pfff hahahahhahahahhaha

DesmaX

Well, same as you. AT III was my first game in the series, and I found it to be quite enjoyable (I did write “bad” with comma’s), but yeah… It really felt rushed, like Gust just wanted to finish the series already.

I did try to play AT I after it, but the level design is horrible. I kept getting lost

aquagon

Nope. Maybe it was rushed in some parts, particularly the graphics and some of the gameplay, but as far as setting, story and songs are concerned, they have the same level of attention to detail and depth as any of the two previous games. Just reading through the Settei Book that corresponds to it should be more than enough to demonstrate this.

aquagon

Sorry to disagree, but Finnel wasn’t at all like Misha. Likewise, while Saki had some of Aurica in her, she wasn’t a complete clone of her, only because Saki was the only heroine in the series to not have anything of a dark side in her. Therefore, I fail to see how they are absolute replicas of the AT1 heroines. And there’s a reason why Tyria has a reputation in the fandom as the best of the three Origin Reyvateils. And how more than half of the playable cast can be returning characters if the only character that fits that description is Cocona?

http://thrust-the-sky.deviantart.com/ WildArms

I love how people compare the AT3 girls to previous girls, hahaha, they are so wrong is funny

aquagon

Yet other sample of why I’ve begun to really dislike the “fandom” of this series.

Kcin

I understand how you feel about the fans that detest 3 so greatly as they hold 1&2 so high when they don’t substantiate why they truly dislike AT3, be it parts or as a whole. I had some of that bias where I felt the hymns weren’t fully on par with the previous games and that there was too much fanservice being displayed compared to before.

I had put down the game halfway in and got too distracted to finish it till almost a year after it originally came out and got back to finishing it so I can finally see how the story of the series plays out. When I came back and finished it, I came to realize the story was amazing and very complete. I felt it was truly on par to the 2 games before it(I even came to my own justification of the amount of fanservice that happens early on, not counting cosmospheres/battles as it’s a given there). Hearing the hymns in sync with the events of the game playing alongside them showed me they’re not inferior in quality as my bias first lead me to believe.

A true dislike I have for 3 is that Finnel developed horribly as a character, and as a heroine of the AT series as a whole. She showed throughout the entire story she could never stand on her own two feet. Finnel will always be a person who could only get by being fully dependent on someone else’s need for her in their life.

Sorry for such a long post just to say “I know how ya feel bro” while defending the game from those don’t elaborate their opinion a bit more personally on how AT3 doesn’t stack up to those before it. It’s an opinion, but I do feel there’s a lot of unjust hate for the game in areas that don’t deserve it without explanation.

Locklear93

Well, okay, that’s fair. I agree that if I present a negative opinion, especially such a strong one, I should be prepared to justify it, so:

*Hymns: While your opinion of them improved in context, mine did not. Nothing in AT3 approached the musical complexity or grace of Singing Hill or Phantasmagoria, and some of the music irritated me to the point that I didn’t even want to listen to the game anymore.

*Heroines: Character design was fine; Nagi didn’t let me down. The multiple personalities inside of each reyvateil, however, completely crapped all over the original meaning of the whole system. They weren’t (originally) multiple personalities; they were slivers of the girls’ personalities, multiple sides. These didn’t act like that at all, and having the girls’ bodies physically transform as they did into their other personalities further distanced it from the original method.

*Cosmospheres: Small, and compared to those in previous games, fairly trite. I played through Finnel, and a good chunk of “endgame reyvateil” (avoiding the name in case anyone hasn’t played it), and was so unsatisfied I never went back to see the last of Saki. There was a lack of detail to their emotional problems, and it just wasn’t interestingly written. Serious emotional situations from AT1 were replaced by Finnel not wanting you to see her poop. While the point was that she was a bit perverted, it was handled gracelessly, and at no point was I impressed. (Sole exception: The “traumachine gun” that popped up at one point was a cute name. That that’s my standout memory of an entire Cosmosphere is just sad.)

*Fanservice: I’m not generally opposed to fanservice. In fact, I like it. When I feel it’s replaced substance, however I draw the line, and I very much feel that was the case in AT3. Yes, AT 1 and 2 had some skimpy outfits. They didn’t feature animations of the girls in semi-erotic poses as their clothes ceased to exist, and they didn’t try to shoehorn skin in as a game mechanic. Seriously? After AT 1 and AT 2, suddenly reyvateils NEED to expose themselves in order to use more song magic? Doesn’t work for me.

*Combat: I very much felt like the action oriented combat was a Tales wannabe, and little more. Additionally, switching from lots of different song magic to “Here’s a big boom that gets bigger!” was a pretty lame change.

*Installer ports and other world building: Installation was a huge part of AT1, and added a LOT of nuance to the magic system. It was great, if abusable. This got diminished in AT2, and removed entirely from AT 3, save one scene where Aoto pulls something from Finnel’s installer port. It was a serious deal in lore and a huge part of gameplay before. Now, an afterthought.

There’s probably more that bothered me (actually, I’m certain there is), but I haven’t touched the game since the week it came out, because I found it to be a full-on disappointment. There was not one single thing that I honestly felt was improved from the earlier titles, and as I’ve indicated above, there was a great deal which was not.

So, you’re naturally free to disagree, and I apologize for just trashing AT3 without justifying it previously, but I hope you’ll at least see that my opinions are neither bandwagon jumping, nor prejudicial, based on what I’ve written here.

aquagon

*sigh* And that’s what you call substantiating an opinion?

Your argument with the music is completely flawed: all of the songs that had Akira Tsuchiya, Akiko Shikata and Haruka Shimotsuki and Yoshitaka Hirota at the helm were every bit as complex as Harmonics EOLIA or Phantasmagoria, and in fact, some of them even surpassed these two: Ec Tisia is multiple times more complex than any of the other songs in the series, given the level of its chorus arrangement and musical development. Just ask anyone who has studied music to compare the songs to see that. Likewise, Harmonics TILIA was a magnificent opener for the game’s situation and a nice retelling of its backstory, Fusionsphere was graceful and elegant, Arphage had a feeling of urgency turned into a self-sacrificial impulse used to save the world, and all of the songs in the final battle displayed an abundance of feelings that could only be equated by Ar tonelico 2′s Sublimation suite. Likewise, all of the heroine ending songs are filled to the brim with the feelings of the character they represent. You say that these songs weren’t special with or without context, but considering how many have actually thought the opposite, I guess that makes you a black sheep among the fandom.

For the heroines, you didn’t even bother to take in account what the personae actually are, right? They can’t really have any weight here because they are just guests in the Cosmospheres of the Reyvateil, not an actual part of themselves. So no: they can’t be compared to the costumed versions of the Reyvateils that appeared in the previous games.

For the cosmospheres, good job forgetting Saki’s distress about having to choose between continuing with her duty or staying with Aoto, or the fact that Finnel has to forcibly depend on someone else for her mind to not completely fall to pieces. Good job trying to say that there are no serious emotional situations in them, despite having them in spades.

For the fanservice, I already stated my point: the only part that goes too far is the Purges, and even they can be disabled in the options for battle, and skipped when they pop-up during story sequences. As for the in-story justification, that only applies to the heroines in 3 because of them being special. The developers said that if any other Reyvateil tried to do it, that wouldn’t do anything for her powers.

As for the Install, you didn’t bother to remember that said procedure was also excruciatingly painful for the Reyvateils, right? In Sol Ciel they use they because there’s no other way to increase their powers quickly, while in Metafalss they developed the Dualstall (the crystal baths) as a substitute for it. Finally, considering that Reyvateils are the dominant race in Sol Cluster, it would be quite an idiocy to think the humans could Install anything in them. Third Generations and their need for Diquility are a separate issue here, as the Clustanian Reyvateils consider them inferior trash for being partly human, and thus greatly discriminate them. In fact, the only kind of accepted Install there is the Diquility one and only because other way Third Generations would die very young.

So no, I can’t see any of your points, neither I can accept you trashing it when the previous games also had their flaws.

Locklear93

The quality of the music is, unavoidably, a matter of opinion. I disagree that the tracks you named are better than those I did, and that’s simply not going to change.

You addressed a fair bit of story concern, I’ll agree, but I still don’t find it nearly as impressive as what was presented in AT1, and honestly, I consider most of it (regarding installs and the personae) contortion on the parts of the developers to avoid the complexities of the install system, which as I noted was a huge boon to the actual gameplay, particularly in AT1. Similarly, the switch from a variety of selectable song magics to just a bigger and bigger attack is something I find highly detrimental to gameplay. In the end, the lore they established for AT3 is so different from AT1 that it simply feels like a blow off to me, that they wanted to do what they wanted to do, regardless of what came before, and they rewrote the universe to suit that.

You can continue to “dislike the fandom” for the series all you like. That you’ve come to that point implies, at least, that whether I’m off-base or not, there are others who don’t care for what was done for (or to) the AT universe in 3. Not that that proves anything in my favor, and I won’t pretend it does. I’m satisfied, however, that I gave AT 3 a fair shake, and it came out sorely wanting, which is not what I found from AT 1 and AT 2. In the end, that’s all that matters.

As for the other games having their flaws, I certainly never said they didn’t. When I get people to try Ar Tonelico 1, I actually refer to it as a “flawed masterpiece.” It’s a question of which flaws bother me more. I don’t find AT1′s nearly as bothersome. (AT2, I consider worse than 1; frankly I find the series got worse with each iteration.)

aquagon

Now pulling the card of subjectivity, when anyone that has bothered studying music or has a trained ear can actually say that these pieces are in fact more complex from a composition and arrangement standpoint, and you initially argued that they were “less complex and graceful than Singing Hill or Phantasmagoria”? That’s without even going into the lyrics that were sung for each of the, the feelings the artists used as the basis for their creation or even the fact that fit the scene in which they were sung. And I might love Phantasmagoria and Harmonics EOLIA (aka: the original version of Singing Hill) to death, but I’m not going to deny the merits the songs that came after them have just because of that.

And I fail to see how the lore was so different. We still have the Reyvateils, their subtypes and the way in which they are connected to the Song Servers, as well as the entire framework of Sound Science and the waveforms and type that compose the universe of EXA_PICO. The only addition given was the Wills of the Planet and how they are connected to a trio of Reyvateils that were engineered precisely to interact with them.

And man, you’re really blind. That I don’t care about the universe of Ar Ciel? Hahahahahahaha. That’s the most ridiculous and false claim that anyone could have said about me, as anyone who actually knows me can attest (such as WildArms, who is also present here) and no: the fact that I’ve begun hating the fandom is due to their hypocritical attitude towards the series, and you my friend, are just other shining example of this.

And AT2 worse than AT1? What kind of joke is that? Aside of the horrendous localization, it’s pretty much agreed by everyone that the game improved the storytelling and fleshed further the universe that AT1 had established, aside of also further developing the music style used by the Hymmnos pieces, making a slow combat system into a fast and fun one, expanding the lore with the creation of a new subdialect to Hymmnos and making characters that were at least relatively realistic. With that attitude I can only see one person blinded by nostalgia so much that only AT1 is good and the other games aren’t even worth the time of anyone.

Locklear93

I don’t remember saying you didn’t care about the universe. I remember saying THEY chose to wipe the slate to do what they wanted. Anyway, neither of us are going to convince the other, and we’ve both wasted more than enough words trying. Enjoy AT3. I encourage that. I won’t.

aquagon

Yeah, thanks for that. It’s quite disheartening to see how everyone considers the first two games to be the creme de la creme, but the third is a piece of trash. This is why I’ve begun considering that most of the fandom is hypocritical: what they consider as a irredeemable flaw in 3 is only a positive point in the other two.

FitzpatrickPhillips

Link to said questionnaire? I’d like to recommend Mana Khemia 3

ワン スャレ

Mana Khemia 3 with the same 3d graphic as the Arland trilogy. That would be sweet.

Ladius

Sadly the Mana Khemia games were the lowest selling Atelier games in Japan, I don’t think Gust will ever go back to that series (or to the Iris games) since they usually don’t revisit previous settings with new games and both the Arland trilogy and Ayesha saw far better sales. The next Atelier game has already been announced and is going to be a sequel to Ayesha’s story arc.

ShadowDivz

Really?! I find that so hard to believe since Mana Khemia 1 is amazing. The school system is on par with Persona. Amazingly crafted, Nice characters, fun as hell. Really captures the essence of a school without being annoying.
Considering japan is all nutty for school lifes now *gag* i’d assume it would be the shits.

Plus i would kill for a mana khemia 3. Arland graphics or 2D HD. Like disgaea. 4

aquagon

It didn’t work because the fans were expecting a traditional Atelier game, and upon seeing they were more like a typical JRPG, these games flopped. It’s easy to see just be seeing at how they sold. Only the first Atelier Iris sold regularly well, and it was because Atelier Violet’s reputation gave it a slight push.

SupaPhly

can someone send the following to them in japanese please :3

“Will we see a successor to the Ar Tonelico series?”
and
“would you kindly add more barrels please”

Riseabovethesky

The next Atelier game should be about a cute pink barrel looking for her papa barrel who was taken far away on a ship.

aquagon

Ciel Nosurge. That’s the successor to Ar tonelico.

Jack

Rorona is the first game in the series *facepalm*

saxophone15

It’s a misunderstanding. He’s not saying the third game in the series (chronologically), but the third game in the series yet to be given the plus treatment.

ShadowDivz

Thanks for clearing that up, because i was honestly like “Isn’t rorona the 1st?”

saxophone15

No problem. Looking back at my sentence, I actually didn’t word it correctly….but as long as people get the idea it’s all good.

FetusZero

That’s kinda sad considering I found Rorona to be better than Meruru despite the improvements the latter had over the first. None of them tops Totori though.

If there’s some games I wish they’d make though, its a re-release of the Gramnad and Salburg series, since they were never localized. Though that probably won’t happen.

aquagon

Well, both Gramnad games already got ported and re-released in the PSP. However, the problem lies in localizing them, and if that happened with these games, I guess that it’d be utter hell for the Salburg games to cross the Pacific.

I hope this just means they’re going to put more into a Rorona port, so they don’t feel it’s just a port with more content and isn’t a “Plus” but something else. Closer to a remake, but not necessarily.

It’d be super weird to have 2/3 of a trilogy on Vita. :/

http://amc9988.deviantart.com/ amc99

So.. Rorona–>Totori–>Meruru? Is that how it goes?

Pyrotek85

That’s the chronological order, yes

Khai Truong

I was looking to see if rorona was coming and i see this such a downer :(

CrystalPulse

Rorona was my first outing with the atelier games and though i sometimes cringed at the graphics and the battle system; the charisma of the cast and the alchemy system got me hooked. Here’s to more Frixel in the future!

Lester Paredes

Just bring it over as a straight port, then! I’m having fun with Totori Plus, a game I would never have purchased for my PS3, but am fully enjoying on the Vita. Just… y’know… have TecmoKoei do some actual promotional advertisements, so we don’t get blindsided by the release! I was lucky enough to have forty bucks just laying around on a gift card and bought some PSN cards with it. I’m not always that lucky, people!

ShadowDivz

What’s wrong with Totori on PS3?

Lester Paredes

I’m pretty sure nothing. I just don’t get to play my PS3 as often as I’d like. I can’t commit the time needed for a long RPG. I generally play Action or fighting or shooting games on my PS3. But when it comes to RPG’s? As much as I’d like to, I just don’t have the time to devote anymore. But on my Vita, it’s with me wherever I go, I can put it in sleep mode when I need to stop and pick up right where I left off hours later, at the press of a button and swipe of the screen. For me, it’s just a convenience thing.

ShadowDivz

That makes perfect sense.
Life huh?

Demeanor

A remake of Rorona no Atelier with updated models and mechanics? I’d buy it in a heartbeat! A very smart move if they go through with it, because the original Arland game, charming though it is, suffers a LOT if compared to the other two amazing titles (am approaching Meru endgame right now, can’t wait for the grand finale and the start of Ayesha), and I don’t think I’d buy a plus version.

Locklear93

Would you mind expanding on this a bit? I got Rorona, started it twice, and never really got anywhere. I got Totori, but never even started it, remembering my experiences with Rorona. I love the personality of the series, but it never really hooked me playing it, so if Totori and Meruru are much better, I’m still up for trying those.

ShadowDivz

I never played Rorona but Totori is a blast. There is SO much to do. And the story isn’t even linear. You could just feel like going back to the home town for no specific reason and BOOM cutscene. Load your file go back to town again and have a different cutscene.
It’s a really nice game. I havnt bought meruru yet because im waiting to see if there’s gonna be a plus version in the west.

Ritsujun

Meruru > Totori > Rorona

http://www.youtube.com/Lyonharvestmoonfan Eduardo Rocha

I’ll stop following this Plus version of the games, I’ll stick with the PS3 version. I would’ve bought the Plus for Totori if it was physicial -.- I can’t afford having the game with my 4GB memory card and don’t want to spent money for a 16GB (or maybe even 36GB memory gard) card just for the Plus games that aren’t 30 hours long.

brian

Rorona is the first game, not third, and I haven’t even played these games.

neo_firenze

Yeah, confusingly stated indeed.

For those who are unaware:
* The Atelier series is a long running series dating back to the PS1 days.
* The “Arland trilogy” is composed of Rorona, Totori, and Meruru, in that order.

So if you’re talking about Totori and Meruru, it does make sense to say Rorona is the remaining game in that trilogy (I think that’s what Sato was trying to say in the post – the third game of the three, nothing about order). Wording was a bit ambiguous though – Rorona is not game #3 in the trilogy.

http://vanilladice.deviantart.com/ Dice

It would take too much work to make that game good.

Womp womp.

Taisuke

I would buy Atelier Rorona plus even if its the same game with no “plus” content.

Vernika

PLEASE TELL THEM AR TONELICO FANS ARE HUNGRY FOR MORE COSMOSPHERE ACTION!!!!!!!

http://s1.zetaboards.com/Espada_of_Alexandria/index/ konpon568

INDEED! SPREAD THE WORD THROUGH THE WINDS, AND LET THE GUST DELIVER IT!

aquagon

And what other stories could they tell about Ar Ciel if all possible plot threads have already been told and closed off outside of the games? Likewise, if you’re so hungry for more Cosmospheres, you could just go play Ciel Nosurge, which can be called pretty much an Ar tonelico without any battles.

Sylveria

The story of the towers had ended in the games, but the planet itself was being rejuvenated. There’s tons of places they could go and stories they could tell.